Motoring Pre-WWII

Motoring Pre-WWII

1926: The Club organised the first British Grand Prix at Brooklands, and four years later, its first Commemoration Run to Brighton to celebrate the repeal of the ‘Red Flag’ legislation.

1934: Woodcote Park was razed to the ground by fire, reopening 21 months later in May 1936.

1939-45: During World War II, Woodcote Park was used as an army training centre with the grounds ploughed for agricultural purposes.

1943: Lord Mountbatten became the Club’s President.

1944: On 20 February, the Pall Mall clubhouse took a direct hit, but was relatively fortunate compared with other devastation in London during World War II. The 50kg German ‘Flower Pot’ bomb penetrated the terrace roof of the Great Gallery, starting a fire that took many hours to extinguish.